“Sandwiches” at St. Bridget’s: Quietly Feeding Our Hungry

So efficient, St. Bridget’s all-volunteer program to provide more than 1,000 sandwiches per week to Kensington’s St. Francis Inn for the poor & homeless doesn’t even really have a name. It’s simply called “Sandwiches.” And it runs like a well-oiled machine!

You can thank coordinator Nancy Laskowski but she’ll thank Eileen Flynn the woman who helped former pastor John Kelly (no, not that John Kelly) to take over when the guy who used to do it passed away.

Eileen used to make a trip out to the Northeast to pick up the bread, but when she turned 85 a few years back, Nancy started pitching in and now she’s got the clipboard so she supposes she’s “in charge.” But really, the volunteers run the show.

Around 7:00 am every Saturday morning, the drivers assemble to unload the meat and bread. Slicers start humming. By 8:00, the little kitchen in the stone house behind “Hillanbrand’s Mary” is a hive of activity!

Men & women of all ages, these volunteers know the drill: line up your bread, two slices of meet, squirt of mustard, two more slices of meat, top with bread, wrap in a baggie, stack sandwiches into bread loaf bags, twist tie & set on edge of table for pickup.

Kinda amazing how quickly — and smoothly! — sandwiches pile up in tidy bundles. For a room so full of people on a mission, it’s remarkably calm and quiet. Today’s chatter concerned tonight’s big dinner dance & banquet for the parish, where they’ll be honoring this year’s six Living Faith award winners:

Parishioners vote to nominate members who “live the faith” and have made a difference in the church community.

For more information about Sandwiches — including how you can donate supplies or pitch in yourself! — please contact at Nancy Laskowski at 215-843-3327. They’re particularly seeking brain-storming help with how to carry sandwiches down to parking lot (which hadn’t been a problem in their former location off Stanton street).

UPDATE 11-18-14

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